Mary Jose Espinoza

Civic Engagement Organizer

1-919-835-1525

Mary Jose (pronouns: she/her/ella) joins the El Pueblo team after over 7 years of working as an organizer in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2010, she co-founded United 4 the DREAM, an immigrants’ rights advocacy group that organized by youth, for the youth. United 4 the DREAM became an outlet for young immigrant youth to advocate for themselves and their families on a wide range of topics, including: in-state tuition, licenses for undocumented immigrants, and stopping targeted checkpoints in Latinx and immigrant communities. Most recently, Mary Jose worked with Comunidad Colectiva, a grassroots group based in Charlotte that focuses on combating anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric at the local level. She also volunteered as a street medic during the Charlotte Uprising.

Mary Jose was born in Long Beach, California to Mexican parents. She and her family moved to Charlotte, NC in 2005. Mary Jose has grown to love and call the South home, and is a proud Southern Xicana. She enjoys spending time with her cat Morty, playing videogames, traveling home to Charlotte and spending time on the lake.